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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:

  • That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
  • We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
  • On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.

By learning about Excel (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.

As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Excel. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.

Neighboring Counties ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived:  their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the east contained birth and death records; the county to the south contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Excel is located in Monroe County.

To see how the shape of Alabama's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Monroe County: Baldwin, Butler, Clarke, Conecuh, Escambia & Wilcox.

Below are the counties that are near Excel. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Excel:

  • Monroe County     (The home county of Excel)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Excel, with the one closest to Excel listed first.
    • Ollie
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ollie have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ollie
      • Ollie is located in Monroe County
    • Frisco City
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Megargel
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Megargel
      • Megargel is located in Monroe County
    • Monroeville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Monroeville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroeville
      • Monroeville is located in Monroe County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,623 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Monroeville <2>
    • Mexia
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mexia have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mexia
      • Mexia is located in Monroe County
    • Goodway
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodway
      • Goodway is located in Monroe County
    • Perdue Hill
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perdue Hill
      • Perdue Hill is located in Monroe County
    • Peterman
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peterman
      • Peterman is located in Monroe County
    • Uriah
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Burnt Corn
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnt Corn
      • Burnt Corn is located in Monroe County
    • Tunnel Springs
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunnel Springs
      • Tunnel Springs is located in Monroe County
      • Former name for Tunnel Springs:
      • Kempsville
    • Finchburg ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Finchburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Finchburg
      • Finchburg is located in Monroe County
  • Baldwin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Excel, with the one closest to Excel listed first.
    • Little River
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Blacksher
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blacksher
      • Blacksher is located in Baldwin County
  • Clarke County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Excel, with the one closest to Excel listed first.
    • Barlow Bend
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Barlow Bend have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barlow Bend
      • Barlow Bend is located in Clarke County
    • Gainestown
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gainestown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gainestown
      • Gainestown is located in Clarke County
    • Suggsville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Suggsville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suggsville
      • Suggsville is located in Clarke County
    • Alma
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alma have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alma
      • Alma is located in Clarke County
    • Whatley
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whatley
      • Whatley is located in Clarke County
    • Walker Springs
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Rockville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockville
      • Rockville is located in Clarke County
    • Nettleboro
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nettleboro have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nettleboro
      • Nettleboro is located in Clarke County
    • Carlton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Conecuh County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Excel, with the one closest to Excel listed first.
    • Repton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Repton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Repton
      • Repton is located in Conecuh County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 254 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Repton <2>
    • Bermuda
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bermuda
      • Bermuda is located in Conecuh County
    • Range
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Range
      • Range is located in Conecuh County
    • Lenox
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lenox have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lenox
      • Lenox is located in Conecuh County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lenox <2>
    • Belleville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Belleville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belleville
      • Belleville is located in Conecuh County
    • Ramah
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ramah
      • Ramah is located in Conecuh County
    • Castleberry
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Castleberry have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castleberry
      • Castleberry is located in Conecuh County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 527 people
    • Sparta ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sparta have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sparta
      • Sparta is located in Conecuh County
      • Sparta has also been known as:
      • Old Sparta
    • Evergreen
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Jay Villa ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jay Villa
      • Jay Villa is located in Conecuh County
    • Nymph
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nymph
      • Nymph is located in Conecuh County
    • Centerville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Centerville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
      • Centerville is located in Conecuh County
  • Escambia County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Excel, with the one closest to Excel listed first.
    • Huxford
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huxford
      • Huxford is located in Escambia County
    • Hammac
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hammac have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hammac
      • Hammac is located in Escambia County
    • Brewton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • East Brewton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Brewton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Brewton
      • East Brewton is located in Escambia County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,326 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for East Brewton <2>
    • Atmore
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Flomaton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Pollard
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pollard have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pollard
      • Pollard is located in Escambia County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 132 people
    • Riverview
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Riverview have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverview
      • Riverview is located in Escambia County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 181 people
  • Wilcox County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Excel, with the one closest to Excel listed first.
    • Asahel
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asahel
      • Asahel is located in Wilcox County
    • Lower Peach Tree
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lower Peach Tree
      • Lower Peach Tree is located in Wilcox County

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Excel, see our County-by-County Page for Excel.

Newspapers Published in Excel ...

An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).

To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.

Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 37 newspapers that have been published in the area around Excel.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Excel, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Excel.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.

To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Excel:

Cemeteries Near Excel ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Excel.

This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Excel covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Excel, with the one closest to Excel listed first.

  • Excel Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Excel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Excel Cemetery
  • New Home Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the New Home Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the New Home Cemetery
  • Mt. Pisgah Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Pisgah Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Pisgah Cemetery
  • Coleman Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Coleman Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Coleman Cemetery
  • Sampey Community Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sampey Community Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sampey Community Cemetery
  • Shiloh Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Shiloh Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Shiloh Cemetery
  • Baas Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Baas Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Baas Cemetery
  • Daily Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Daily Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Daily Cemetery
  • Wiggins Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wiggins Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wiggins Cemetery
  • Repton Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Repton Methodist Church Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Mexia Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mexia Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mexia Cemetery
  • Continue List   (211 more) ...
    • McMillan Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the McMillan Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McMillan Cemetery
    • Sowell Old Field Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sowell Old Field Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sowell Old Field Cemetery
    • Morris Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Morris Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Morris Cemetery

Nearby Communities in 1895 ...

We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<5>

While we didn't find Excel in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Excel.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Excel, with the one closest to Excel listed first.

  • Repton
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Repton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Repton
    • Repton is located in Conecuh County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 254 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Repton <2>
  • Monroeville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Monroeville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroeville
    • Monroeville is located in Monroe County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,623 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Monroeville <2>
  • Bermuda
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bermuda
    • Bermuda is located in Conecuh County
  • Range
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Range
    • Range is located in Conecuh County
  • Perdue Hill
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perdue Hill
    • Perdue Hill is located in Monroe County
  • Axle
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Axle have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Axle
    • Axle is located in Monroe County
  • Claiborne
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Claiborne have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claiborne
    • Claiborne is located in Monroe County
  • Belleville
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Belleville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belleville
    • Belleville is located in Conecuh County
  • Burnt Corn
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnt Corn
    • Burnt Corn is located in Monroe County
  • Wallace
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wallace have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallace
    • Wallace is located in Escambia County
  • Finchburg ‑ Historic
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Finchburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Finchburg
    • Finchburg is located in Monroe County
  • Gosport
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gosport have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gosport
    • Gosport is located in Clarke County
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Barlow Bend
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Barlow Bend have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barlow Bend
      • Barlow Bend is located in Clarke County
    • River Ridge ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for River Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Ridge
      • River Ridge is located in Monroe County
    • Castleberry
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Castleberry have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castleberry
      • Castleberry is located in Conecuh County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 527 people

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Excel. See our List of 1890's Communities around Excel.

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Excel. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for State of Alabama: https://www.alabama.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Excel) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Excel. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.4264, Longitude: -87.3433       In this case, the coordinates for Excel have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com.
<5>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Excel, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024